Rose Amongst Thorns
by SamuraiKai
Summary: A halfangel meets the Yu Yu Hakusho gang, who are assigned to train her. Begrudgingly, she accepts, and is taken on an adventure she never dreamed possible.
1. Eri and the Youkai

Okay, this is SamuraiKai, with the rewritten first chapter of my story. I'm sure you can figure out which story seeing as you're reading it. If you're wondering, there is a brief mention to one of the Yu Yu Hakusho gang, I mean she passes out in his arms and what not, I'm figuring you can figure that out on your own. Anyways, they'll all be there in the next chapter. If you guys like it, let me know so I'll update quicker, deal? Yay!

Hercules (my dog): Woof! Woof!

Nate's Translator: (In a metallic voice) Do not forget the disclaimer…

Kai (that's me!): Oh, right… Well, does anyone want to say it for me? looks around

Botan: Sure! Kai doesn't own anything Yu Yu Hakusho related, however she does own Eri and her family. While she doesn't own heaven because she isn't God, she owns all of the angels she creates, including Eri's father. With that being said, she doesn't want anyone stealing her characters, and if you want to borrow them you have to get her permission. And Nate isn't hers either, he is a creation of a friend of hers who doesn't want him stolen except by Kai who has permission. He is a super genius who created a machine that will translate any language. He'll probably be translating more in the beginnings to come, but won't appear in the story. Looks at Kai How was that?

Kai: blinks You know way too much about me Botan, that's scary. But I'll give you the benefit of the doubt because you're the grim reaper.

Botan: Bingo! Bingo! You got it! You seem to know a lot about me too!

Kai: O.O Yeah… sighs anyways, on with the story. I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

It was finally over, that was all that mattered. The wind blowing in her face, whipping her hair around, the stars shining overhead casting light on the dark night, even the people walking past, none of that mattered. All that mattered was that it was over. It was today, today was over. With that thought in mind, Eri wiped the tears from her soft silver eyes, unwilling to think about what had transpired over the past few hours. 

In fact, while Eri thought about her current situation, she schooled her face into an emotionless mask and hid her emotions from herself especially. Today had been terrible, it was true, but it was over. That woman was out of Eri's life, or Eri were out of hers as it were. Her mother had kicked her out of her house tonight, claiming she was bringing her other children away from her. Claiming Eri was a juvenile delinquent, when it wasn't true. Sure, the girl got into fights, but they were to defend her honor. And sure she had some strange habits, but they were due to her heritage, not to being satanic. If anything, she was the farthest from satanic anyone could be. She was half angel.

Stopping, she looked around at her surroundings for a second. The trees rustled nearby and Eri looked up at the moon for her last bit of comfort. Her dad was out there somewhere, she knew he was, he had to be. Her mother had tried to lie, saying he was dead, but Eri knew better. He was an angel, and he'd gone back to Heaven, where he'd belonged. That had been a huge part of the argument tonight, the argument that had left her an orphan. She shook that away, not wanting to think about it. The fight didn't matter now, her father was gone for good and so was her old life. She sat at a bench and breathed deep the fresh air. "It's peaceful out here," she realized, unconsciously reaching for the necklace she always wore around her neck. It was a key shaped pendant, the only other thing her father had left to her besides being an angel.

She heard a scream from behind, and stood to face that direction. A demon was terrorizing people? Here, with all these lights? Brushing her soft burgundy hair out of her face, Eri made her way forward towards the creature her angel half was alerting her to what she already knew. This thing was a youkai, the weakest of its kind true, but one nonetheless.

Energy building in her hands, the girl tackled the demon to the ground, managing to punch it many times before it shrieked a sound no ears should hear, and threw her off, managing to make her land roughly on the concrete several feet away. Brushing the dirt off, Eri stood and made her way against the sorry excuse for a demon again.

"Honestly, if that was going to hurt anything but my ears, you should have tried harder," she scoffed, before charging up her hands once again and charging. This time, when she landed, her fists went through his chest, and she managed to get her feet wrapped around its neck.

With a sickening snap, she twisted his head around, breaking his neck, before flipping off and landing on one knee to see the creature fall dead to the ground. That was when the shaking began, and she cursed fate for not allowing her to train so this could be avoided. She cursed her mother for keeping her from her birthright.

Without being able to control her abilities, she was vulnerable when she'd exhausted what little she could control. Looking up, she noticed that someone was willing to take advantage of that, as a redhead made his way over to her side. There was nothing she could do about it when she passed out, either, except fall into his arms.

* * *

I'm sorry if this is too short for you guys, but I tried to make it longer, to make it better, without giving too much away. And you should all really thank, not that anyone besides her read the older version I'm sure, Nanashi Naomi for my rewriting this. If you want to read the older version, feel free, I'm going to post the website to my quizzes on my homepage, but it's not staying here to make the rewritten story look bad. Thanks again Nanashi, that's really all I needed to rewrite it. I hope this is better, but feel free to tell me if you think something should be changed again. Ja ne minna-san! 


	2. Koenmas 20 Questions

Slowly, Eri opened her eyes, wondering how she was comfortable in the middle of the street. When she looked around, it became clear that she was nowhere near the middle of any street. In fact, she was in a comfortable bed, in a room you'd never seen before. It wasn't a decor you'd pick, being white with pink trim. It looked like one of your little sister's rooms. Then you remembered, you didn't have sisters anymore, or a mother, or a step-father, or any family as it was. Sitting up slowly, Eri could feel the sheets and comforter fall off of her body, and she was still in her street clothes. A small comfort, knowing no one had seen her naked.

Then you heard a shifting sound and turned your head quickly towards it. A somewhat familiar figure walked towards you, but you didn't know where you'd seen him before. The boy, teen... um, man? Well, the redhead was walking towards you. Apparently he had heard Eri sit up, and made his way towards her to see how she was doing. He sat down on the edge of Eri's bed, and looked her in the eyes, his own emerald orbs filled with worry.

A flash of memory came back to her then. Of exhaustion, and a concerned redhead catching her as she passed out in his arms. Was this the boy? Had he brought her here for a reason? The thing that worried Eri was that she didn't know what his motives were. As your mind races through thought after thought, you school your face to remain calm, and wait to see what he says.

"I see you're awake," is the first thing that comes out of his mouth, his voice calming her._ 'I didn't even realize I was nervous,'_ she thought, as she felt her heartrate slow and her courage grow.

Then she had something to say, to ask, now that she felt sure he wouldn't hurt her and wouldn't turn away from her for now. "Who are you?" Her voice was quiet, and shaky, but the words came out.

"My name is Kurama," he answered. "I saw you last night, when you fought that thing. It was brave of you, to confront the youma, but you have no practice with whatever powers you seem to have."

Blunt was the only word for what he had said, but she knew it was true. "What do you want?" she asked, instead of thinking about it.

"Only one thing..." he trailed off, sounding mysterious and making her worry once again. He leaned very close to her, trying to read her expression.

"And that is?"

Realizing that he'd scared the girl, he moved back, saying, "I'm sorry if I scared you, I just needed to figure out why I saw what I did yesterday. Anyways, about what I want, it's only for you to meet someone for me. If it helps any, I'll be by your side the whole time."

"To meet someone?" That was when she reallized why her nerves had seemed to be on fire the whole time. This boy, this redheaded teen, was hiding something, and it felt like demon to Eri, if she could call it that. It was very smothered by something, but it really didn't matter right now. He was standing and walking towards the door. Scrambling out of bed Eri rushed to catch up to him.

"Right, to meet someone, come on, this way." With that he walked out of the room and down hall after hall, making sure Eri could keep up with him and staying close to her.

Eri wondered just what to make of what he'd said in her room, now that she had a chance to think about it. '_What had he seen that had him wondering so?'_ Looking up in time to notice he'd stopped, Eri barely avoided bumping into him and a large set of wooden doors. Kurama knocked on it, and when it opened, the half-angel felt overwhelmed with the hectic bustle of the ogres, creatures she'd never seen before, running around like chickens with their heads cut off. It was nerve racking for the girl, and she had to stare for a moment, before being nudged along by her male companion through the crowd and into an office. "She's awake and here, sir." He said, stopping in front of a desk. There were four people in the room already and she wondered it he was speaking to one of them, though he wasn't looking at either of them. Instead, Eri looked around to see if any of them answered. There was a short one, with gravity defying black hair, who was sitting on a windowsill staring outside and ignoring Eri's presence entirely. There were two leaning against a wall, one with black hair, in a green uniform, probably for school, and a boy with orange hair in a blue uniform. There was also a woman standing near the desk, but a few feet from it with blue hair, wearing a formal kimono, with an oar in her hand.

Then the chair at the desk turned and Eri thought her eyes were going to bug out. A toddler was sitting behind the desk, looking like he was king? A TODDLER! It was too much. Eri's only brother, ex-brother now, was about this kid's age and he wouldn't sit for more than three minutes, let alone behind a desk like he was at a job. "Hello," the child spoke, shocking Eri even more. "I am Koenma, Ruler of Other World. Your name is?" Eri wondered if he could figure it out if he wanted to. Surely the Ruler of Other World could, if that is truly what he was. Either way, she was shocked beyond words. "Excuse me?" he prodded, and she almost let her name slip.

Then she remembered that she didn't know these people, she had no reason to trust them, and giving away your name was an act of trust she couldn't make at the moment. Not when her trust in people had been shattered by her mother only hours ago. "I won't tell you my name yet," she admitted honestly. "I will tell you when I can trust you."

"You have to trust us," he sighed. "Listen to me, Kurama told us what he saw you do yesterday evening. All we want to know is who you are and how you did it."

"Why should I tell you?" Eri snapped, wondering why she was arguing with someone so young. Or someone who seemed so you, for it was becoming clear there was more to this toddler than he was letting on. It made no sense why they should worry about what she did or didn't do.

He answered plainly, "You could have revealed something that's been hidden from humans for a long time, if you don't tell us what happened you could be in a lot of trouble."

You didn't like this game of 'Twenty Questions', so you decided to tell them enough to get them off you back. "I was kicked out of my house last night, permanently. Then I saw that demon, and I'm half-angel, don't ask for the details, so I knew it was a demon. I attacked it since I didn't have anything better to do or anything left to worry about. I passed out afterwards because I never learned how to control my powers, okay?"

"And your wings? Can you explain those to us?" he asked, cocking his head out of pure curiousity.

Now Eri was lost. "Wings...?"

* * *

Sorry about the cliffie guys, but I promise to update the next one soon, okay? I hope you like this, and I hope more people read it this time around. Don't forget, the actual quiz is on Quizilla and the link is on my homepage. Thanks guys, ciao! 


	3. Condemned to Train

A/N: I know, I'm sorry the chapters are short, I'm really trying to lengthen them. I hope you like it though. Oh! And this is the last time I'm going to say this, I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, or any of its characters, but I do own Eri. So no stealing! From now on, look back here for disclaimers.

* * *

"Yes, wings," Koenma sighed, looking to Kurama for help and clarification. The thoroughly confused Eri looked at the red-head standing beside her as well, curious and anxious for an answer. It had never been clear to her, or to anyone else she knew of, that there was a pair of wings that appeared on her back. Not ever, though in truth that didn't mean much. Kurama nodded, and Koenma continued glad for the affirmative response. "Kurama has told us that you sprouted and spread wings yesterday when you attacked that youkai. What about them?"

"What about them?" she asked skeptically. "I've never known I had wings until about two minutes ago, when you said something. Truthfully, I don't know what to tell you because I don't know a thing about them." Brushing her soft lavendar hair from her face, the teen sighed, not wanting to stand here and play these games. They were so useless, and pathetic. The fact that the ruler of the Underworld cared that an angel had wings was amusing, but not enough to make her smile. Then again, very little made her smile these days.

Annoyed, Koenma sighed and turned back to Kurama. "Will you tell her what her OWN wings look like?" he requested. Now, the obvious irritation in his voice was enough to make Eri smile, though she took great pains to make sure no one noticed. The toddler that ruled Otherworld was grumpy, maybe it was naptime.

Kurama nodded in spite of Koenma's agitation and was glad the one beside her was better composed. As he began to speak, Eri's mind wandered, she took in her surroundings which she'd just found interesting. There wasn't much left to see except the furniture, but it became clear that the black-haired one was a demon. The two boys, one in blue and one in green uniforms, Eri had seen around town before, usually in fights. Good thing they always seemed to win, or she'd be rolling her eyes right about now. Still, she was slightly surprised to see them, and smiled at the fact they were here, opting to ask them about the details later. The girl had blue hair and seemed to be constantly hyper, if not always smiling, that was a comfort of sorts. At least not everyone was so damn serious. What was unnerving was that she was staring straight at Eri, though the smile was contagious.

A hand on her arm shook Eri back to reality, or back to the minutely irritated Kurama. "Have you heard a word I've been saying?" he demanded, eyes going hard.

Embarrassed, she looked at him and then away. "Well, no..." she answered, face going red, "not exactly."

With a sigh, he rolled his eyes and spoke again. "Your wings are lavendar, or they were for a time last night. No, don't ask, I don't want to be interrupted after I was ignored," he smiled, softening the harsh words. "When you collapsed after the fight they turned to a navy blue. They only faded after you fell unconscious, which was when you were brought here."

"By you?"

"By me."

"Why?" she asked herself, though outloud it wasn't enough to be heard by anyone except Kurama, who looked at her. _'Why didn't I know about them before? Has anyone noticed them? If so, who?'_

"Excuse me." Twice he'd knocked Eri out of her thoughts, and that was two times too many as far as she were concerned. Looking up, she met his eyes anyways, and Kurama pointed at Koenma. The toddler was clearing his throat, covering his mouth with his fist.

"Look, I'm sorry if I was rude earlier, but you have put us in a very difficult situation. It is clear that you knew nothing of your wings, so that I will forgive you. However, you cannot just charge into a fight without the proper training. One wrong move and you could kill yourself, quite literally, from an over-extension of your powers, or mal-use of them. I've made my decision, therefore. You will stay here and train with the spirit detectives."

"Wait..." one of the boys spoke up, the one with black hair and the green uniform, "You mean we have to train her?"

That stung, and everyone seemed to notice the look that crossed Eri's face. A glare from Koenma shut him up. "Yes Yusuke! You don't need an angel going wild because of lack of experience!"

"Fine," the boy sneered.

That was all Eri could take silently. "Hello!" she sneered, getting everyone's attention and some interesting looks. "Sorry if I ceased to exist for a few moments, but I'm pretty sure I know what you just said!" Eri fought to hold her angel, knowing the consequences of losing it. Concentrating on past meditation, the feelings faded until there was nothing left but the calm that usually filled the void of emotions. When you turned to him again, it was satisfying to see that he seemed slightly embarrassed.

"It's not you," he explained quicly, "it's just that we'll have to leave you behind if we go on a mission."

"Lier," she muttered, but looked away from him. Changing the subject, she asked, "And the rest of you are?"

"How rude of me! That is Hiei, Botan, my grim reaper, Kurabara, Yusuke, who you've met obviously, and Kurama, whom you've also met," Kurama introduced them each one by one, pointing each out respectively. "Now, will you please tell us your name?"

Caught up in the moment, she almost let it slip. A name, however, was an important thing that you didn't just give away, even if he'd told her the names of everyone in the room. "When I know I can trust you all, you'll know it," she answered, and everyone guessed she was thinking about that little bout with Yusuke that had just ended.

Koenma seemed to understand, and nodded. "Training starts tomorrow," he announced, "You are all dismissed."

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End file.
